Aoibhin Redmond

Aoibhín Redmond, a student at Gaelcholáiste na Mara, recorded the ‘twitterxmassingle’ which reached number one on iTunes charts. She was chosen amongst the students in her school to write and record a song with Pure Project. She has performed at many different venues, including the likes of the Victory Centre in Dublin and Connery Arts Centre. Recently she won the Arklow Music and Arts Scene Songwriting Competition which was open to professional and amateur musicians.

On the 18th of July she opened for the Navvies on the main stage at the Arklow Seabreeze Festival and won the Arklow Seabreeze Busking Competition.

She also played in Conary Church on Culture Night. Aoibhín attended a ‘Creative Minds’ programme which she was invited to attend via Music Generation Wicklow which took place in the US Embassy. The programme is aimed towards upcoming young singer/songwriters like herself to make connections in the US and to learn from more experienced professionals. In October she had a show which is part of the ”Room to Record” music course which she auditioned for and it teaches young people about recording, performing, live sound and filming. She organised a fundraiser with GOAL for families in Syria by busking and doing a song called ”Is there A Place” which is available on iTunes. Over Christmas she is working with the Arklow Community Action Resource Centre to raise money for the homeless in Arklow by getting all of the youth of Arklow together to perform. More details are on https://www.facebook.com/musicforhomelessarklow

Cruinniú is a female chamber choir based in Arklow, Co. Wicklow. They perform 2,3,4 and 5 part pieces in a variety of genres; from sacred to traditional, popular to classical.

Cruinniú was formed in 2011 under the direction of Rosarii Kinsella A.R.I.A.M. Rosarii has a history steeped in music, from piano teaching to choir conducting. Cruinniú is her first female chamber choir and she is relishing the challenge.

Cruinniu sing both competitively and for entertainment. Cruinniu have gone from strength to strength and greatly look forward to many more competitions and performances.

Cruinniu retain the title from the competition ‘Female Choir – Open’ for the second year running in the New Ross AIMS Choral Festival, as well as first place in the ‘Sacred Music’ category in both New Ross and Arklow Music Festivals. They currently proudly hold the title for ‘Female Voices Choir’ in Sligo International Choral Festival.

Annually, they host a variety of events, most popular of which is ‘Carols by Candlelight’, a Christmas favourite in the town!

John Breen

John Breen, a native of Arklow, County Wicklow Ireland, has a pure powerful singing style traditional of the likes of the legendary Ronnie Drew infused with a with a hint of Ernest Tubb, an echo of a 1970 Kris Kristofferson and the ghost of Johnny Cash. A passionate singer of well known Irish as well as his original songs, combined with an intriguing blend of contemporary Celtic music, John Breen comes from a pedigree musical background; grandfather Tommy Costello was one of the founders of the Arklow Pipe Band, brother Tommy Breen a founding member of legendary trad/folk group Boru, and his sister Charlotte, who collaborates with John on many of his songs, is a published lyricist in the USA and an Los Angeles Music Awards executive producer award winner.

John Breens’ debut self titled album, comprised of vocalist/guitarist John Breen and his band Finan, was a compelling tribute to Irish ballad tradition. His second Album “Old Men In Hats” was released in 2011 by Emphasis Records in the USA. “Old Men In Hats” is the summation of the Celtic Nation as a whole from the last six years—and further back to deep rooted issues, filled with emotion, triumph, good times, loss and the ever present over-coming resilience of the Irish spirit.

Arklow Saint Colmcille’s Pipe Band

Arklow Pipe Band are now recruiting members. We have a great tuition program set-up, we hope to be able to improve players of any ability. The band has a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere as well as a great work ethic at the same time.

If you have experience or would like to take a step up in your playing career please contact our Pipe Major, Chris Earls, at 087 7432784 or our Drum Sergeant, John Martin, at 086 1664210 for further details.

St. Colmcille’s Pipe Band is the official name of our band but we are also known as Arklow Pipe Band, this is our registered name within the Irish Pipe Band Association and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. We are based in Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, and our band was formed in 1941.
2015 will see our band compete at Grade 3A Level.
We hold our band practice sessions three times weekly, Monday evening is our beginner class where we meet from 7pm until 8.30pm to give instruction to new members, on Wednesday evening we meet from 7pm to 9.30pm and Saturday evening from 7.30pm until 9.30pm. These practice sessions are held at our premises, The Lar Cullen Hall, which is located in Castlepark, Arklow.
New members are always welcome so if interested please come along to any of these sessions or contact any of those listed below if you have any query about band membership etc.

Founded in Arklow Co. Wicklow, Ireland in 1968, this band has an unusual history. It was established from a very successful boys’ choir which was part of the Arklow Youth Club. While there were previous Brass Bands in Arklow it was many years ago so there was no expertise to call on to help with the development of the band but from such humble origins the band gradually developed and by 1972 began to compete in the lower sections of the Irish Band Championships which were held every year in the Town Hall in Dun Laoghaire, eventually winning the Championship section in 1981.

The Band gives numerous indoor and outdoor performances every year details of which can be found on the Diary Page of the Band’s website, which is very active and informative with a vast amount of information, photos and music of the band.

The Band are always looking for new members especially experienced musicians who may want to try their hand at a brass instrument and again contact details for this are on the front page of our website.

Are you a former member of the Band?

Would you like to see if you can still play?

Are you a musician that would like to try another instrument?

Are you interested in joining one of the premier brass bands in Ireland?

We are particularly interested in any percussion players out there.

Avonmore Musical Society

The main show for next Easter is “Evita”. 29th March – 2nd April 2016.

The Arklow society was founded in 1979 and made their first performance in 1980 with the concert ” A Night at the Opera”. Ever since then, Avonmore has been performing award winning musicals in St. Mary’s College Hall in Arklow. Thousands of people have performed on stage with Avonmore over the years in shows such as “My Fair Lady”, “Oklahoma”,”Carousel!”, “Oliver”, “Mack and Mable”, “Honk”, “Some Like it Hot” and “Annie”. The society enjoyed its greatest success in 2004 with the multi award winning show “Copacabana” being nominated for 5 AIMS awards and winning 3 for Best Visual Show, Best Choreography for Marie Barber and Best Actress for Naoimh Penston and coming 2nd for Best Overall Show. And in 2012 our production of “The Wizard of Oz” was nominated for 5 AIMS awards winning Best Stage Management and coming 2nd for Best Overall Show.

Avonmore is indebted to the many patrons, sponsors and audiences who support them each year and especially this year in the current economic climate.

The Penston Vocal Academy

Find your voice and learn to sing in a fun, friendly and challenging environment.

Under the direction of renowned singer and vocal coach, Naoimh Penston, this school of vocal excellence provides fun and challenging training and unique and exciting performance opportunities for singers of all ages.

From our home at Studio 55, Arklow, The Penston Vocal Academy provides the best in vocal instruction to singers of all ages, training students in all musical genres from musical theatre to popular, sacred and classical music. Emphasis is given to anatomical awareness in vocal production, and the development and maintenance of a healthy voice.

Theory, sight reading, and aural awareness preparation for Royal Irish Academy singing exams are also included, and students are prepared, within a group environment, for solo and ensemble performances and competitions. Classes are for boys and girls and private tuition is available on a limited basis.

Most importantly, the Academy specialises in advanced choral training and groups compete and perform at national level throughout the year.

A passion for performance, a secure musical ear and a good singing voice are essential entry requirements to the Academy.

WiseGuys

WiseGuys are one of Ireland’s premier live bands specialising in Weddings, Parties & Corporate Functions. With a full 6 piece live band including live rhythm and brass section, WiseGuys are guaranteed to provide top class entertainment to suit all ages.

All members of WiseGuys are established musicians with a wealth of experience in the music industry. This experience coupled with the bands packed program of hits, guarantees you a top quality, highly entertaining act to keep your guests dancing all night.

Apart from the superb 6 piece “WiseGuys” for your evening entertainment, the band can also offer a host of additional services including Church music, Drinks reception music, Ballroom entrance & Residents Bar Music.

We also offer a pro DJ service to ensure that the dance floor is full right to the end of the night.

We understand that every aspect of your wedding day must be perfect and we are happy to work with you to ensure you get exactly what you want.

Let us know your preference for the first dance and we’ll be happy to play it, if we don’t already know it, we’ll learn it. Likewise if you have a request for any songs that are not on our playlist, just let us know and we’ll be happy to meet your requests. We strive to provide the perfect selection of music to keep your guests entertained throughout the night.

With a live rhythm & brass section, we add a unique and fresh sound to every song on our playlist. With WiseGuys, it’s not just the songs, it’s the way we perform them.